1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a delivery system for applying a treatment material to animals. In particular, the invention relates to a delivery system for applying an insecticide gel or other sticky or viscous fluid to the entire outer skin surface, including the underside (belly), of a domesticated animal such as a cow or a wild animal such as a deer.
2. The State of the Prior Art
Flies, lice and ticks on cattle are a centuries old problem. Conventional ways of treating these pests include spraying, the use of dust bags which the animals rub up against, and other self-applicators which attract the animal once it learns that it applies relief. These techniques are effective to varying degrees, but none are particularly effective at removing flies and ticks from the stomach of the animal, which is nearly impossible to access with any of the conventional techniques.
Also, the increasing deer population in the United States is responsible for a significant increase in the tick population. In many areas of the country, it is impossible to control ticks on cattle unless the deer tick population can be controlled. It is virtually impossible to use any type of conventional insecticide applicator with wild deer.
The invention provides a delivery system in the preferred form of an applicator for applying a treatment material to an animal. The treatment material may be any thing which the user of the invention wishes to apply to the skin of a domestic or wild animal. Preferably, the treatment material may comprise an active ingredient such as an insect repellant or an insecticide. Ideally the active ingredient may be an insecticide for flies and/or ticks or the like. In addition, the treatment material may comprise a carrier component which is a gel-like substance or a viscous and/or sticky fluid which will stay put in the first instance on the applicator and after it is transferred to the skin of an animal by virtue of contact between the animal and the applicator, will stay put on the animal""s hair and skin to thereafter repel and/or kill the insects. These insecticides and repellants and carriers are well known in the insect and pest control field and are not a part of the present invention.
In its broadest form, the applicator itself may comprise an elongated, flexible, resilient brace member having a first end and a second end. The first and second ends are spaced apart longitudinally of the brace member a first distance. The applicator may also include an elongated, flexible, resilient swing element having a proximal end and a distal end. The proximal end and the distal end are spaced apart longitudinally of the swing member a second distance. The swing element is swingably connected to the brace member with the proximal end of the swing element adjacent the second end of the brace member. The first distance is greater than the second distance so that when the first end of the brace member is implanted in the ground at an angle, the swing element dangles freely from said second end of the brace with its distal end spaced from the ground. Preferably the brace member and the swing element each have an outer surface adapted for carring a supply of treatment material which, in the most preferred form of the invention consists of a gel containing an insecticide.
In a preferred form of the invention, the member and the element may each be in the form of a flexible, resilient stick, preferably a length of chlorinated polyvinylchloride, (CPVC) plastic pipe. Other flexible materials such as fiberglass, soft wood or other plastics may be employed. Ideally, the CPVC plastic pipe may have an outside diameter of about ⅝ inch. In accordance with the invention, the brace member is implanted in the ground at an angle relative to vertical, whereby the distal end of the swing element is approximately 4 to 5 inches from the ground and approximately 12 to 16 inches away from the brace member in a horizontal direction. Ideally, the angle may be approximately 60xc2x0.
In accordance with the concepts and principles of the invention, the brace member may be approximately 5 feet in length and the swing element may be approximately 2.5 feet in length. The applicator may also include a piece of rope for swingably connecting the swing element to the brace member. In a most preferred form of the invention, an end reinforcement may be provided for the proximal end of the swing element.
In an alternative form of the invention, a mesh net disposed in surrounding relationship to at least a portion of the swing element may be included. In another alternative form of the invention, the applicator may include a reservoir for the treatment material. Ideally, the reservoir may be in the form of a piece of flexible tubing formed from rubber or Tygon or the like having an end that is secured inside the swing element and a delivery portion that protrudes from the distal end.
invention also provides a method for applying a treatment material to an animal. The method preferably employs a plurality of the applicators of the invention. In accordance with the invention, a plot of ground is selected and the applicators are implanted in the plot with the first ends of the brace members in the ground so that the brace members extend upwardly at a non-vertical angle relative to the ground. Ideally, and in accordance with the principles and concepts of the invention, a feed material for the animal can be distributed on the ground within the plot to attract the animals to be treated and an insecticide gel is applied to the outer surfaces of the brace member and the swing element.